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Post by calfzilla on May 4, 2016 4:46:59 GMT -7
I was able to snag one of these at (what I believe to be) an incredible deal. It looks to be a head conversion from a 2x12 combo if the notes on the chassis are correct. It sounds absolutely fantastic, albeit loud as hell even with an attenuator at -30dB. I am curious about one thing, however.... There is no boost footswitch jack. Instead, it has an effects loop. Everything I've read about the original Rx is that the effects loop was intentionally left out for tone reasons, but this looks like a Dr. Z factory option/modification since the back plate looks like an original Dr. Z plate. Does anyone know if this was a widely offered modification from Dr. Z? Does the boost function get transferred to the brightness switch? It seems to have quite a volume boost in positions 1 and 3 compared to position 2, but I'm not sure if that's normal or not.
Thanks for any and all information everyone!
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on May 4, 2016 6:28:52 GMT -7
Good question... I have an original Rx too, but mine's just the standard footswitchable-boost jack and no loop. I wonder if Jaguarguy (Mike) could respond--if I recall correctly, he's got a few of these, both combo & head form. Maybe he could help correlate to what's on his amps..?
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 4, 2016 8:34:51 GMT -7
I'll check when I get home tonight if I get a chance. I believe that Doc did do some modifications for people.
BTW - Any pics you have would help clear up your questions.
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Post by calfzilla on May 4, 2016 9:33:05 GMT -7
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 4, 2016 10:32:30 GMT -7
Link didn't work for me!
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Post by calfzilla on May 4, 2016 14:17:08 GMT -7
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 4, 2016 17:04:57 GMT -7
Nope - shows me a picture of a giraffe or something and says I'm in the wrong place.
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Post by calfzilla on May 4, 2016 18:03:35 GMT -7
How bout now, brown cow?
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 4, 2016 18:48:55 GMT -7
I just checked my amps. I have four early Prescriptions - none of them have a send/return. I also checked my other early Zs with send/returns and none of them had the plaque like yours on it. Not saying that Doc didn't do it - just none that I have are done like that. Guess we'll have to wait for Doc to check in with us.
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Post by calfzilla on May 5, 2016 4:15:26 GMT -7
Yeah I'm afraid it was done by a random tech since the return jack looks to be different from the rest.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 5, 2016 4:52:33 GMT -7
Here is a pic of my Super Z with send return similar to yours - so maybe it was original. (sorry it's a bit fuzzy) The return jack on yours just seems to be missing the washer.
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Post by calfzilla on May 5, 2016 11:29:25 GMT -7
Hmph. Well, I'm still curious if my boost functionality is now gone or if it got wired into the bright switch. Mike, do you experience a volume boost with the bright switch in positions 1 or 3?
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on May 5, 2016 12:09:27 GMT -7
I have the 3-position bright switch on mine, but NO I generally don't perceive a significant volume boost with the switch either up or down (in the "I" or "II" positions). I almost always leave mine in the middle ("off") though, except for the rare occasion with a Les Paul.
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Post by calfzilla on May 5, 2016 15:04:41 GMT -7
I'll have to play around with it a little more to determine if I'm actually hearing a volume boost or just a frequency boost.
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Post by drew on May 9, 2016 15:39:50 GMT -7
Here's a picture of mine. It's got a boost footswitch jack but no loop. And I run my 3 position bright switch off (middle) and don't really notice much of a volume boost in either I or II positions. I do notice a slight volume boost when the expand switch is up but it's seems to me more of an upper mid boost rather than volume boost.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 9, 2016 16:03:07 GMT -7
Hey Drew! Looks good. What did you do with the 2X12 cabinet?
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Post by drew on May 9, 2016 17:10:45 GMT -7
Thx Mike. I traded with a buddy who had a 1x12 Galaxie, formerly mine. He loves the Galaxie with 2x12's running at 8 ohms. Me and my back are happy with the 1x12 combo. BTW: I've still got the SRZ 65-RC cab sitting unused. :-) I do you have a question for all of the RX owners. The upper last little bit of travel on the treble and bass controls has an odd reaction to the amp. There is an audible difference as the controls are maxed from 9 to 10 where all of the hiss and background noise go away. The amp still sounds fine but I think it's odd and I may need to replace the treble and bass controls. The amp had seen a lot of heat over the years, prior to me owning the amp, and the output and phase inverter tube sockets were worn and cracking. So I replaced them and am wondering if the controls are starting to fail. Calfzilla sorry to hijack your thread... Congratulations on a fine amp. It's a very cool amp that has it's own special character; it ain't a RX ES, it ain't a stangray, it ain't a maz, and it's certainly not a vox'y sounding amp.
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Post by calfzilla on May 9, 2016 17:26:13 GMT -7
Hey man no worries on the hijacking. I actually have a question as well..... Has anyone had an older Z start to make really weird sounds? Like odd pings and nasty sounding interference? I did just buy some tubes off the old crap bay (bad choice I know) so I'm trying to isolate the issue as we speak, but just in case I put the tubes it came with back in and it still does it I was just wondering if anyone had some insight.
Thanks!
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 9, 2016 18:04:50 GMT -7
Hate to ask but ... Is there a cell phone near it? That will sometimes cause a problem. Also, make sure the chassis bolts are tightened.
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Post by calfzilla on May 9, 2016 18:49:33 GMT -7
I actually had my cell right next to the amp head. Moved it, issue persisted. Took the attenuator out of the equation. Switched guitar cables. Switched speaker cables. Switched speakers. Switched rectifier. Made sure my guitar input hadn't somehow went bad. Ended up being those eBay power tubes... They fit in just fine but pulled them out and the pins were angled on two of the tubes. Any idea of the 6P14P tubes have thicker than normal pins that aren't well suited for tight fitting sockets or something weird? Or should I just straighten the pins out and try again?
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 9, 2016 19:14:39 GMT -7
Here's a couple of my original RXs - Prototype #1 on the top.
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Post by headshrinker (Marc) on May 9, 2016 20:34:17 GMT -7
Straighten the pins out and try again. Be careful when inserting them that the pins are lining up with the centers of the socket retainers.
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Post by calfzilla on May 10, 2016 4:09:34 GMT -7
They looked straight when I first installed them but they came out crooked so I was just a little confused. The JJs I pulled out of there came out fine and went back in just fine so, eh. I'll try again tonight. I'm just glad it wasn't one of the speaker cables or the attenuator! These things have a volume knob like a HRDeville haha.
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Post by drew on May 10, 2016 8:09:54 GMT -7
Sounds like a tube problem. I would also recommend cleaning the tube sockets with some detoxit spray.
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Post by calfzilla on May 10, 2016 17:03:45 GMT -7
Straightened the pins out and the tubes work just fine now so I have no idea what happened but hey, I'm glad it worked out! Can't really beat a matched quad of 6P14P's for $25 can you?
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Post by drew on May 11, 2016 14:05:04 GMT -7
Good news, nice to know it's working out.
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Post by calfzilla on May 18, 2016 7:51:09 GMT -7
Alright, I need to revive this... Finally heard back from repairs@drz and they indicated that an FX loop was never offered for the Rx... They seem to be swamped though (took 2 weeks just to get that response) so I was curious if anyone had a schematic or layout for the Rx? I want to look at the wiring and see if they re-connected the boost section to one of the switches or if there is any way for me to re-connect the boost section to one of the jacks and remove the FX loop since it pretty much goes against the spirit of the amp. Thanks!
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 18, 2016 10:26:44 GMT -7
No schematic here. My guess is that Z is busy building DB4s - selling way more than he initially thought he would. And that's a good thing for him!
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Post by calfzilla on May 18, 2016 13:00:58 GMT -7
They actually got back to me, which I really appreciate. Looks like the boost function is fairly simple and should be easy to reconnect if the jerk before disconnected it for an effects loop...
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Post by calfzilla on Jun 12, 2016 5:51:43 GMT -7
Alright, a bumpity bump with a new question...
Any ideas on how to tame the brightness of this thing with single coil guitars? Should I set the amp EQ at noon and run an MXR-10 with flat bass and low mids and highs? Or should I set the EQ at more like 1/4 on everything and try to voice the dirt pedals so they don't cause fart in the 10" speakers? Or should I just list this in the BST and see if someone would be willing to trade me a CG or something?
Any opinions welcome and appreciated!!!
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